Gourmet Pigs

Friday, November 24, 2017

The best meals are created when chefs get to play around and innovate with their ingredients. Chef Leo Asaro at Tico Restaurant in Boston's Back Bay gets to do every once in a while with a special dinner called Leo's Lab, which happen every 2-3 weeks.

For Leo's Lab, guests are seated at the lab kitchen counter, so you can see all the action of Chef Leo Asaro preparing everything. There are only eight seats and only one seating for the night, so it's quite an exclusive experience.

Each Leo's Lab dinner comes with five savory courses, a dessert, and a chef's special cocktail - plus a welcome glass of prosecco for $75. Instead of a server, chef Asaro serves and explains each dish to the guests.

I attended the last dinner, which started with some Bay scallops with autumn berry, pine, and smoked oil
It was near the end of the season for Nantucket bay scallops, and we savored it paired with tart autumn berry sauce.

"Wrapper's Delight" - vegetables wrapped with jamon serrano and mole
The mole took chef Asaro 2-3 days to make and was very rich in flavors. The wrap filling was also accentuated with some rau ram (culantro).

Friday, November 17, 2017

Cinema Italian Style is the Los Angeles showcase for the best Italian movies of the year. In an 11-day marathon full of events, attendees will be immersed in the Italian culture in the way of film, food and culture. The event kicked off with a US premier of the 4k digitally restored version of Blow Up and Red Desert by Michelangelo Antonioni.
Part of the activities included a Gala Dinner celebrating the Italian showcase and was held at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel. Held in the hotel’s Penthouse, we benefitted from having a panoramic view of the city. The place was buzzing as people were excited for what was to come.
The people at our table were ecstatic to find out that guest chef Leandro Luppi, a Michelin starred chef from Ristorante Vecchia Malcesine in Verona, was at our table. This was his first trip to the US and he was here to help promote Cinema Italian Style. While he didn’t speak much English, he smiled often and was quite friendly. Two individuals at our table aided in the translation between English and Italian.
The first course was a tuna tartare surrounded by a base of creamy smoked mozzarella and topped with passion fruit. The dish was delicious and had an interesting combination of flavors. The acidity from the passion fruit paired nicely with Mr C’s Prosecco.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

I enjoy food that has been prepared with a marinade or with sauces that have complex flavor profiles. That said, Indian food has always been on my radar, but not a frequent dining destination, so I was delighted to try the Bombay Palace in Beverly Hills. A Beverly Hills mainstay, Bombay Palace has been serving Indian food in a more stylish setting than the usual Indian restaurants since 1985.

Complimentary papadum is served to all of their diners. This is a thin, crispy chip that obtains its taste from whole cumin seed. Three dipping sauces (tamarind, mint chutney and spiced carrots), elevates the papadum greatly.
It is also an opportunity to taste the dipping sauces before you apply them to other dishes. Since the mint chutney had a nice kick, I selected a beverage to balance it - a mango lassi.
The vegetable samosa was my starter.
The exterior of the samosa was light and not greasy because it wasn’t deep fried. The filling consisted of diced seasoned potatoes and peas. I topped these with tamarind and mint chutney sauces to give them some added seasoning and flavor.